


Small Things Chapter 1

by Ratatosk



Category: Pitch Black / Riddick
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-11
Updated: 2007-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-24 06:42:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/260276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratatosk/pseuds/Ratatosk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Themis, captain of the aging freighter Ceridwen, was torn. The middle aged holy man who had called on her this morning seemed the perfect paying passenger. Quiet, thoughtful, a comforting presence. But this "traveling companion" of his . . . he was something else. The longer she was with him, even here in the peace and security of the station commissary, the greater the sense that letting him on the ship would be a significant mistake. That at any moment he was going to be the still point in a whirlwind of weapons.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Themis, captain of the aging freighter Ceridwen, was torn. The middle aged holy man who had called on her this morning seemed the perfect paying passenger. Quiet, thoughtful, a comforting presence. But this "traveling companion" of his . . . he was something else. The longer she was with him, even here in the peace and security of the station commissary, the greater the sense that letting him on the ship would be a significant mistake. That at any moment he was going to be the still point in a whirlwind of weapons.

Themis, captain of the aging freighter Ceridwen, was torn. The middle aged holy man who had called on her this morning seemed the perfect paying passenger. Quiet, thoughtful, a comforting presence. But this "traveling companion" of his . . . he was something else. The longer she was with him, even here in the peace and security of the station commissary, the greater the sense that letting him on the ship would be a significant mistake. That at any moment he was going to be the still point in a whirlwind of weapons.

Still, the dark man was paying, his coin was good, and since it was coin, it was easy enough to conceal from the tax collectors. He was willing to pay generously for passage for three from Minos to New Ithaca, even though her ship that was taking a very circuitous route. Her cargo bay far emptier than she liked, and if she didn't have contracts she had to fulfill with long time customers, this would not be a worthwhile trip to make. With his contribution, the trip she could turn a profit.

She just wished she knew he hadn't done anything _too_ illegal to get the funds.

What cargo she had needed actual tending, so no cryo for the ship's "crew," her and her husband Dale. A few passengers could be a boon that way as well. Help keep their minds off of the aching emptiness of time in space. If this particular passenger didn't kill them.

"So who's the third member of your . . . party?" she asked pleasantly trying to stall.

He shrugged slightly. "Just a kid. Won't take much space."

"Your kid?"

Something shadowed his features. "No. But she's with me."

 _Now, why would that be? Did you kill the parents?_ The thought was morbidly fascinating. But silly. No one did that. At least, no one traveling with a holy man. She compensated for her dark thoughts with a smile. "Can I meet her?"

He shrugged. Raised his voice. "Hey, Jack."

Themis turned her head to follow his voice. A young . . . person pulled away from a chattering swarm of animated adolescents. Themis would have guessed it to be a 13 year old boy from the lanky build, short hair, and loose stride. The girl, if that's what it was, gave Riddick a brilliant smile, just barely brushed the back of his hand with her fingers as she sat herself at the table with a boneless grace rarely given to adolescents.

If the man was flirting with darkness personified, this girl was all sunshine. Themis gave him another quick look. Riddick's features had actually softened as he looked at the girl. He noticed the glance, and his features stiffened back into impassivity. _Doesn't want anyone to know he cares about her_ , she realized _._ She filed that away. The girl smiled at Themis, met her eyes boldly.

"Hello, Captain. Got room for three more?" No fear in that voice or in that body language. The captain's sense of foreboding began to fade. If this strong, confident girl was with him, this Riddick couldn't be all bad.

"Hello, Jack, I'm Themis. Can I buy you a real lunch in the captains' lounge?"

"Absolutely!" Jack bounced out of her seat, suddenly seeming much younger, full of delight. Themis stood, smiling. Riddick stood too, slowly, his full attention hard on her. Calculating. There was a moment of awkwardness.

Jack broke it with a tinkling laugh. "I think she means just me, Riddick."

"Hm." His voice was thoughtful, but there was a warning implicit. _Trying to figure out if I'm going to hurt the kid?_

This thought surprised her. But it was, in its own way, charming. She was beginning, slightly, to like this man. It was absolutely obvious he was out of his depth taking care of someone. He wanted on her ship, but he didn't like the idea of this girl being out of his sight.

The girl knew it too. "I'll be fine." Jack made a fist, punched him gently in the arm. "I don't think _this_ lady's gonna try to eat me."

His head swiveled down, his attention now completely focused on the girl. Finally, he shrugged. "Scream if you need me."

"Always do."

His lips actually twitched. He sat back down, letting her lead the child away into more exclusive dining facilities.

Jack was clearly not from the streets, whatever else she was. She was perfectly at ease at this fairly posh establishment, and ordered paneer palak as if the menu contained no mysteries for her. Themis settled for the gumbo, knowing it was likely the last time she'd see fish or flesh for a while. As they were waiting for their food, she finally asked, "He treat you okay?"

"As good as he can."

"So . . . what was all that about?"

"What?"

"Eating. Screaming. You folks . . . have a history. But he's clearly not family. You together long?"

Jack looked down at the table for a moment. "For a while." Her sunny disposition darkened briefly.

"Look, I'll be frank." Themis shook her gray locks, tiredly. "I like you. I like Abu. I even kinda like him. But . . . I'm worried. He looks like trouble."

Jack snorted involuntarily. Before Themis could ask why, their food came. When the waiter departed with his platitudes, Jack took a mouthful of greens, chewed thoughtfully.

"So he's trouble?" Themis prodded.

"Depends." Jack took another mouthful, savored it. Seemed to come to a conclusion. "Look. He is what he is. He's no Space Scout. He'd love to just ditch me off someplace, stalk back into the darkness, live in splendid isolation behind some wall somewhere. He didn't ask for this, but he promised someone he'd get me and Abu home safe. And he's trying his best." She took a drink of water, clearly choosing her words carefully.

"If you're asking me if he's going to be trouble . . . well, it depends. I've never seen him pick a fight. But when fights come, he gets between me and monsters, and the monsters get hurt."

 _Strange way to put that._ "Why is he taking care of you?"

"I don't know." Jack suddenly looked much older. "It's sorta random. But he's all I got. Him and Abu. Once we get where we're going, he says he'll go, and Abu'll be all I've got."

The girl's face grew pleading. "Captain, I really want to be on your ship because Abu says we wouldn't have to go into cryo. Riddick never does, and I really wanna spend more time with him before he goes away. Please let us go with you."

It was Themis's turn to take a mouthful, chew it thoughtfully. "He's a criminal, isn't he?"

Jack flushed, looked down. Didn't say anything.

Themis smiled. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone. Most of us are some sort of criminals, out here. Or runaways." She was rewarded with a brilliant, heart-meltingly hopeful smile.

"He's never done anything wrong while I'm around," Jack said, staunchly. "He's a good guy."

"Look, I don't know how to ask this question. So I'm just going to ask. Is there anything going on between you?"

Jack's smile was a little forced, but still hopeful. "No. He's not the slightest bit interested in me that way."

Themis chewed, thoughtfully. "I'll make you a deal."

Jack's face was even more hopeful.

"You keep him good, and you can come with us. But you have to promise me you'll tell me if he hurts you."

"Yes Ma'am!"

They finished the meal. Themis paid. Jack's gratitude seemed genuine and unforced. _I could really get to like this kid._ "We leave at 1600. That's three hours. Can you round up your people? Jack nodded vigorously and scampered off.

 **0o0**

Weeks after they had started this leg of their adventures, Jack still liked the ship. Jack liked the people on this ship. Jack even sorta liked the fact she was catching up on school on this ship. Themis had a fascinating past. She'd been a marine before she'd gone into moving small freight. Maybe she was ready for a new career, she took to teaching with an enthusiasm that made Jack hide from her some times.

Jack was growing to like having her own cabin, even though at first it was strange to sleep without Riddick within an arm's reach. He still spent hours with her every day, mostly teaching her strange fighting techniques. She didn't necessarily want to learn these things, didn't like the implication that he thought she needed to know these things, but he paid attention to her if she applied herself. So she applied herself.

Their second stop was the peculiarly named Wonderfalls. A planet of middle managers all of whom, Themis said, fancied themselves artists. The Ceridwen was carrying orders of rare raw materials, and would be collecting art that, the savants on the planet declared, needed tending in transit. Whatever.

Riddick had wanted her to go shopping. Riddick had not wanted to go shopping with her. He'd arranged for her to go with Themis.

It made her nervous. Like he was trying to get her to bond with this woman, get her out so he could slip away, guilt free. Still, it was hard to fathom that he'd slip away on _this_ iteration of paradise, full of wholesome art of questionable quality. And she did like Themis already. Even if she sometimes talked weird.

It had been a good day. They were walking back to the space port, taking their time, enjoying the sunset, talking of almost nothing, shifting the bags from hand to hand. They could have taken a transport, but it felt good to stretch.

"You remind me of my daughter, Ari, when she was younger." Themis smiled at her, grandmotherly.

"You have a daughter?"

"I had a son and a daughter. Ari and Ici."

"My god." Jack blushed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Themis laughed. "It's okay. They were short for Ariadne and Icarus. Named for a story."

"Tell me."

"It's a sad story. I sometimes regret saddling them with these names."

Jack gave her a puzzled look.

"Anyway, short version. My daughter, Ariadne, was named for a princess who fell in love with a stranger, and somewhat foolishly helped that stranger kill her brother in the middle of the night. Her brother was a monster, a killer of men, but still . . . anyway, she escaped her home with the stranger, who later abandoned her.

"I sometimes think I set my daughter up. She's been married a few times, has a few children, but doesn't seem able to settle down into a good relationship."

"What about your son?"

"You don't know about Icarus? He lived in the same palace as Ariadne. He lived with his uncle Daedelus, the king's . . . well, the king's own Leonardo. After she escaped, her father locked him up thinking he was involved. They tried to escape from there too, by flying out of there, only Icarus flew . . . .well, in the old days, they said "too close to the sun," and his wings melted. Sometimes, I think I cursed my son with that name too."

"What do you mean?"

"He joined the military. They tell me he died in battle."

"I'm so sorry." Jack touched her arm. They walked in silence. Finally, Jack broke it. "Better than what I've got. The big story associated with my name had me being a boy and falling down a hill."

Themis smiled. Bumped her affectionately with one of the bags. "That's not the only story, you know. There's another where you climb into the heavens and bring back wonders. Jack and the Beanstalk. And another where you scare off demons. People still put out Jack o' Lanterns in some worlds. And another where you represent the life force itself, Jack o' the Green. Another where you are the messenger of old winter. Jack Frost. All sorts of stories."

"I didn't know that. I'll have to read them some time."

Themis smirked at her. "We'll add it to your lessons." Jack groaned in mock horror.

The sky seemed to pick up the sound. Themis froze, scanning upwards. Jack followed her eyes, to something streaking like a meteor across the darkening sky. Everyone stopped, watching. An interplanetary shuttle, out of control, falling out of the heavens.

It hit the ground far too close with a shattering explosion. With a spacer's instinct to flee possible decompression, Themis dropped the packages, tried to yank Jack away. But the girl was already gone, sprinting towards the flames.


	2. Small Things Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shuttle, all flames and twisted metal, was dissolving into smoke. Heedless of all good sense, Jack had flung herself into the craft along with a few other foolish Samaritans who should have known better. Sirens were screaming, but no official rescue crews were there yet. And other throats were screaming too, from within the ship.

The shuttle, all flames and twisted metal, was dissolving into smoke. Heedless of all good sense, Jack had flung herself into the craft along with a few other foolish Samaritans who should have known better. Sirens were screaming, but no official rescue crews were there yet. And other throats were screaming too, from within the ship.

Wasn't hard to find one. A baby. She gathered it up, pushed her way out. She shoved the child at Themis, ignored her impotently groping hands, and lurched back in to the wreckage.

Another small explosion, and another. Found another child; bigger than the last and another who could walk. She pulled them out of the compartment, and almost cleared the wreckage before another final fuel tank gave up the ghost, the concussive force giving her flight for a terrifying moment. She wrapped herself around the littlest child. Felt something slice across her forehead. Everything went black.

**oOo**

An eternity later, Jack dimly became aware she was tangled in wreckage. Some stranger was cutting her out, gently taking the child from her. _What happened?_ She tried to stand, failed. They were chattering at her, but she couldn't hear. Her face was sticky with blood.

 _I'm deaf._ She almost panicked. _Ruptured my ear drums._

 _They can regrow those._ She stared blankly at the rescuer, who was gesturing madly that she should stay still. She laid back, heart beating franticly.

 _He's going to leave me. Just like Ariadne. They are going to take me to the hospital, run tests, figure out I was on the Hunter-Grazner, and he'll leave me so he's not caught out here._ The horror seemed to shock her legs into working. She stood, unsteadily.

There were body parts in the wreckage. She stared at them. For a moment, she was standing in the wreckage of the Hunter-Grazner. She started to shudder, the warm feelings of doing good draining away into a pit of a sick horror.

Themis was nowhere to be seen. She could have been hurt too. _Oh god, she wanted to run. She could have been hurt because she was waiting for me._ Her eyes prickled. She pulled herself out and away, limping. Nothing seemed to be broken, but every thing hurt. _I thought Riddick hit hard. Nothing compared to exploding space ships._

Sound was coming back. Someone was yelling at her. She feigned more deafness than she had. Then a man was in front of her, holding her shoulders, his clothes in tatters. She almost went for her knife. _Good, Jack. One minute you're rescuing people, the next you're killing them._ He gestured frantically. She touched an ear, said what she hoped was "I can't hear you."

He took a deep breath. Smiled. Let go. Made a gesture like he was cradling a child. Then he leaned forward, kissed her on the forehead, avoiding the cut. She smiled politely, and then he was hugging her, desperately. He pointed her towards a make shift triage station. Then he was gone. She started to head back towards the Ceridwen before shaking her head, stumbled through the wreckage, towards where she'd seen Themis last.

It was a nightmare trek. One moment, she was scrambling over wreckage and seeping bodily fluids and fuel, the next, she was back on that planet, running for her life, back in the cryo tube, terrified, back on the skiff, falling headlong flaming from an ethereal sky – then back again, scrambling over wreckage.

She found Themis at the triage station, doing what she could. She still had their bags. She could hear better by then, but not enough for comprehension. Someone shoved her towards a decontamination station; only then did she realize she was doused with fuel.

In the decontamination unit, the strange nightmare doubling started again. She was back on that nightmare planet, the rain sluicing down, Riddick laughing. She started to shake. Some kindly woman helped her clean the cut on her forehead.

They gave her a thin paper gown and told her to wait for an exam in a room full of other people, all in limbo between accident and medical release. She sat, increasingly miserable. Increasingly alone. Kept thinking of Ariadne, abandoned, alone; Icarus dying during an escape attempt. Fry, dying . . .

After what seemed like many hours of waiting, she was finally examined by a young doctor. Hearing was mostly back. "Bruising and a mild concussion. You were very, very lucky." The woman gave her some painkillers, bandaged the cuts, even though they weren't bleeding any more. "If you can bear it, wait a day to go to the hospital to have the bruises taken care of. They are swamped. But if you go, tell them you're the girl who saved those children, and it'll be free. You're a hero, you know."

Jack smiled, uncertainly. "Don't feel like a hero. Just did what you should do."

The doctor smiled. Sat next to her on the exam table. "That's more than most people do. Look, are your people here? I'd like to talk to them."

"I don't know – I need to get back to my ship before they leave me -"

The doctor gave her a searching look. "No one worth being with would leave you. And if they have, we'll take care of you. Do you have clothes to change into? Wait here a second." She darted out, came back with a soft hospital dress and slippers. Looked away as Jack put it on, led her by the hand out of the hospital. "I checked, your people are waiting outside."

Themis and Riddick were there, Riddick a step outside the circle of light spilling from the hospital. Even knowing he hated such things, at least in public, she buried her head in his chest in a fierce hug. After moment, he wrapped his arms around her, carefully.

The doctor was talking. "Are you family?"

"Yes." Jack squirmed around to look at the woman. "We're family. I wanna go now. Riddick, can we go now?"

"Is the kid okay?" His voice was lower than usual.

"She'll be fine –a mild concussion, lost a fair bit of blood. She'll be badly bruised, take her in once we've cleared out the immediate trauma patients. I gave her some heavy duty pain killers; she'll be asleep soon." The doctor's eyes were intense. "She's a hero, you know, dove into the wreckage, saved three kids." Riddick's arms tightened around her. "But that's really what I want to talk to you about. She may have guilt for all those people she didn't save. Survivor's trauma . . . " She trailed off as her communicator beeped. "Look, I gotta go. But make sure she gets taken care of, will you?" She gave Jack's arm a squeeze, and was gone.

They made their way to Dale and a commandeered vehicle. Jack looked at it. Started to laugh, slightly hysterical. "It's a sand cat. It's our solar chariot. Only this one goes at night. We needed one of those, once upon a time." Riddick frowned down at her, after a moment's hesitation, helped her into the back seat. Sat with her. She burrowed under his arm.

"I thought you were going to leave me again. Like Ariadne." Her voice had a silly quality.

"Like who?"

"Just a story I was telling her," Themis broke in. "About a princess."

"She tellin' you stories, kid?" his voice was rough whisper. "Encouragin' you to be a hero? We gotta talk about you diving into a crashed ship. Not smart. Thought I taught you better than that."

"They were all dead, and in little pieces, and I couldn't save them." She gazed up at him, eyes searching. "How did you do it?" He just sighed.

"Do what?" Themis's voice filled the silence. But Jack had already succumbed to the sleep of the anesthetized. She never heard him not answer. She didn't even wake up when Riddick carried her to his own bed, or notice that he laid awake next to her for many hours.

**oOo**

To Themis's surprise, Jack seemed to shake it all off, aside from the bruising, aside from staying very close to Riddick the next few days. She was glad it would be many weeks before they'd see anyone else; the bruises on the child would raise awkward questions. She had been willing to wait to have them treated, but both Riddick and Jack had insisted they should move on. While that was unsettling, she did have a schedule to keep.

Two weeks into a seven week leg, Themis had fallen into helping Jack catch up with school almost every day. The kid was smart, but there were significant holes in her education. The two of them were sitting in the tiny mess, in the middle of a lesson, when the computer paged the Captain to the bridge. Jack looked at her hopefully.

"Wanna see what it is?"

"Sure!"

They made their way to the tiny bridge. Themis sat in the pilot's seat, gestured Jack into the co-pilot's seat. "Emergency beacon. Damn."

"Why?"

"Three days out of our way." Her hands busied over the controls. "And no other ships registered as nearer. Damn."

"Are we going to rescue them?"

"Rather not. But nav com reports no one else in a better position. Damn."

She could almost hear the child thinking. Her voice was small, as if confessing a dark secret. "We were rescued."

"What?"

"Our ship went off course. Hit a planet. Broke up. Most people died in the crash. I was trapped in a cryo tube; they had to cut me out."

 _Oh dear. That's why you dove into the wreckage._ Jack, always sunny, aside from that one strange night on Wonderfalls, wasn't. She had pulled her knees up to her chin, a small ball of misery. "Sounds bad." Themis tried to keep her own voice steady.

"There were . . . bad things on that planet. Animals. . .they killed almost everyone else." Her voice trailed off. "We drifted a long time . . . The first ship that picked us up wasn't full of nice people . . . "

Themis reached a hand, touched her face gently. Jack closed her eyes.

"If he - if Riddick hadn't been there we all would have died."

"When you said he got between you and monsters . . ."

"I still hear them sometimes."

The cockpit was silent except for the soft chirp of the emergency beacon. After that, there was really no question that they would ride to the rescue.


	3. Small Things Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

The skiff hung silent in space. Drifting. Sensors reported that nearly every system was on the verge of failure. It was small enough to bring into one of their cargo holds once they moved some things around. After some thought, Riddick accompanied Themis to meet the survivors. Abu drifted into step beside them.

The ramp was already down. Two men, heavily armed, in the uniforms of some foreign military were descending. Their weapons were out, ready, but not aimed. One of them gazed around, fixed on Themis. "I am Lucien, commander of this mission. This is my . . . second in command, Drake. Thank you for rescuing us. You have done a great service for the Hegemony, and you will be rewarded."

Lucien shook Themis's hand, gave Riddick a wary nod; gave Abu a dismissive look. Spoke with authority. "We are commandeering your vessel now. "We'll need two rooms for us, and a secure place in the cargo hold for our prisoners. We will need you to take us to Maidenfall."

Themis spoke slowly. "We have no secure facilities. But we do have cryo tubes."

"These monsters don't sleep in cryo."

A noise from the door. Jack had snuck down and had snorted, involuntarily. The other soldier, Drake, fixated on her, a hungry look on his face. Riddick watched with growing irritation as she made eye contact with a friendly smile. Drake's smile back was predatory. Riddick made a slight gesture, grateful for once that she was always watching him so closely. She scooted over beside him, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Drake's eyes stayed on her.

"We don't have food or fuel for such a long trip with that many people, " the captain said, levelly, "and our environmentals will be stretched to the limit. What did they do?"

Lucien looked old. "They killed twenty five of my men. Many more will die if we do not get them home, extract what they know. Look, we have fuel and supplies on this skiff we can't use anyway, and you will be well compensated for your assistance."

"You said compensation?" She named a high number.

"Agreed," Lucien said. "We'll bring over supplies, make something in your cargo bays secure."

**oOo**

Abu helped Lucien move supplies as Riddick helped Dale and Drake set up a secure cell in the cargo bay. Never a bad idea to know where the weak spots in the cages were. Dale insisted there be a wet toilet, an interesting concession to human needs.

Riddick was trying to get the measure of Drake. Lucien was easy; a soldier's soldier. Drake . . . Drake was a problem. The type of man who hunted for a life where he could hurt people smaller than him.

He didn't like the way he looked at Jack. Like she was potential prey. _Though if he kills her, I can kill him, and move on with my life._

_Except I'd miss her._

_Gonna happen sooner or later anyway. . ._

Shook it off. Then he saw her hanging at the edges of the room, again. He waved her over, watching Drake closely. Drake gave her one look, but returned to his work. _Good. Might just have been too long locked in a ship with a bunch of guys after all . . . closest thing to an available girl around, 'specially since the Captain's got her ex-marine on._

Then Drake gave Jack a very direct look. "Hey, kid, wanna help?"

Jack perked up. "Sure!" She scampered over to Drake, full of hope and trust. _Damn. That kid is just too helpful._

Far quicker than Riddick liked, Drake shoved Jack into the cell, closed the door. "Try to get out." His smile was friendly. She gave him one strangled look, backed away from the door, patting her pockets. _Looking for something to pick the lock with. He doesn't need to know she knows how to do that._

Fast as a snake, Riddick had the keys from Drake, had the door open. Jack darted out, stopped close to him. He wrapped a possessive arm around her. "Yeah. No. Don't like the thought of her in with the monsters."

Drake had started at the movement, but now was eyeing them closely. "Yeah. Well. Maybe she can help move the prisoners?" His voice was mocking.

"Those dangerous guys of yours?" Riddick said easily. "We'll need all the help we can get." He took Jack's hand and they walked down together, Drake shooting them darkly fascinated looks.

**oOo**

The prisoners might have been pretty, once. But they weren't now. Bruised, stiff, cut, in chains with nasty collars around their necks. When they moved slower than Drake liked he thumbed a control on his belt, and both went down, writhing. Jack took a convulsive step towards them, but Riddick pulled her back against himself. Rumbled a warning low in his throat.

Themis cut through the growing tension, "I will not let you torture prisoners on my ship. They will be treated humanely."

Drake grimaced, but he turned off the controls. The two men gasped, seemed to be in less pain. The older one gave Themis a grateful look. The younger man, not much older than Jack, focused on her instead, his eyes on the cut on her forehead, on the bruises on her arms. He smiled at her. Trying to figure out if she was a potential ally? Riddick pressed her back into himself harder. The young man's look sharpened.

 _Don't get to close, kid,_ Riddick thought _. I'd take you hostage if I were them. Arm around your throat, press you against the collar so you felt it too, hope they'd be too fuckin' sentimental to make you scream._ The thought of those shocks ripping through her small body made him tighten his grip. She stiffened slightly.

She was unafraid. He was mixed on that. Her lack of fear was a lot of why he liked her. Fear made you prey. But it also made you cautious. She wasn't ready to protect herself yet. And she really wasn't the best at calculating risks.

Drake interrupted his thoughts. "Into the cage, boys. Your new home."

Both men hesitated. The younger one was trying to meet Jack's eyes, pleadingly. Riddick made a low warning sound. Jack looked up, puzzled, completely unaware of the boy as any sort of a threat. Riddick ignored her, his eyes locked on the boy. Despite clearly having had the shit beat out of him recently, the boy did not drop his gaze until Drake hit him in the mouth. Jack made another convulsive move towards them, but Riddick held her firmly against himself. Both men were backed into the cells. The men secured, they left.

**oOo**

_Riddick's freaked out,_ Jack thought, still a little surprised by it all. He hadn't been so demonstratively possessive for ages. Plus he had spent two hours showing her how to break holds, and he hadn't been the slightest bit playful about it. All she could figure was he was mad at her for letting Drake grab her, though he hadn't said anything about it. Oh well, it was still fun in its own way. Helped keep her mind off of the kid getting hit for looking at her. She wouldn't have minded hitting Drake. _Or having Riddick hit him._ She shook off the thought. She was drenched in sweat, but one of the new guys was using the shower . . . oh well, maybe tomorrow; by the time he was done Abu would probably be asleep and he'd gently made clear the water woke him up.

She couldn't get the two prisoners out of her mind. Especially the young one. Couldn't believe he was so dangerous that he needed to be treated like that.

So it probably shouldn't have surprised anyone, least of all herself, that late that night, long after everyone was asleep, Jack snuck out of bed. She found a first aid kit, snuck down to the improvised prison. The outer door was locked, but Themis had left her alone with an open terminal once. She'd been careful to memorize the captain's override codes. She keyed one in quietly, entered the room.

The light was low. The prisoners were talking softly, behind the row of bars set floor to ceiling. They stopped when she entered. Their cell was empty but for the make shift toilet and two bare mattresses. She crept to the bars.

"Hey."

The two men blinked at her. "Hey."

"I'm Jack."

There was silence. Finally, "I'm Bor. That's my nephew, Tir, sulking in the corner."

"Yeah." She took a deep breath, pressed the little first aid kit through the bars. Bor took it, his now-wondering eyes never leaving her face.

"Thanks." He started rummaging through it. "Very . . . merciful." He found what he was looking for, turned to the other man. Began cleaning wounds that were obviously festering painfully. Jack watched, forlorn.

"Hey. . . look, do you guys . . . need anything else?"

"Outta here," Tir said.

She was struck again at how young he was. Not much older than her. She looked down, shamed. "Maybe I could get you food or something. You look hungry."

Bor said, gently. "We haven't eaten in days. That would be great." Jack started to slip away. "Wait – don't - don't . . . don't do anything risky for us."

She gave him a cocky smile. "Don't worry." She slipped away. She made her way to the mess, trying to remember what starving people could eat, that wouldn't have a lot of packaging to betray her. Ended up with crackers, dried fruit and nuts, some sort of high calorie goop.

 _They are drinking out of the toilet._ She shuddered. _And they don't have blankets._

_They can't hide blankets._

_Next trip, maybe._ She slipped down silently, made it back to the cage without incident. Paused at the door. She could hear their quiet voices. Tir, outraged. Bor, soothing. She crept closer.

Bor was sighing. "I don't know. Maybe . . . She doesn't look beat down. But his scent is all over her. And those bruises . . ."

She shivered, pushed through the door, gave them each an innocent and cheery smile. "Hey. Brought you a snack." With greater confidence than she felt, she thrust the food through the bars. This time, Tir took it from her, a soft look on his face that made her feel funny inside.

"I can't stay. I'll try to bring more."

"Thank you. Why are you doing this?" the younger man asked, quietly. "What did they tell you we did?"

"Told us you were killers. But . . . you remind me of someone who saved my life a bunch of times. He did bad things too."

"Your bald friend?" Tir asked, his voice cracking slightly. She looked down.

"Has he done bad things to you?" His voice was soft.

She glared at him. "No."

"How did you get so bruised?" he asked, softly.

"Shopping."

"Please help us escape," Tir's voice didn't just crack, it broke. She stepped back, suddenly intensely aware that he could pull her against the bars, hurt her. Riddick would be pissed if that happened. "Look, we're not what they say we are. We really aren't. And it's not just us. These men . . . their masters will kill a lot of innocent people, and they'll use us to do it. Our family. My sister. They killed my little sister Sarah in front of me. They . . ." He couldn't finish. His face was earnest, entreating. She stared in his eyes, hers prickling from tears. He rushed on. "If you won't help us escape, help us die. They'll pull all our people's secrets out of our brains. We'll be the instrument of their deaths-"

Jack was almost to the door. "I'll be back when I can-"

"Wait – please-" Tir's voice broke again. "Let us out. We'll protect you."

"I don't need protecting." She was surprised to hear how unconvincing her voice sounded. She cleared her throat. "But I'll think about letting you go anyway. We've got time."

She scurried out, mind swirling.

_They could smell Riddick on me?_

She laid in her bed for a long time.


	4. Small Things Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

Jack kinda liked having a secret life, liked sneaking down to the cargo bay to sneak the prisoners food. Really liked the longing looks Tir gave her, the softness of his voice . . .

It was trivially easy to sneak down there. She'd memorized the captain's access codes, had spent many a happy hour exploring and pouring over the schematics, memorizing all of the secret passages and secret places to stash cargo. And anyway, Lucien spent almost all his time in his room; Drake spent most of his either drunk or sleeping. Some soldier. The others avoided the cargo bay. She was fairly sure Riddick never went down there. Only Abu went down regularly to preach to the prisoners, which they tolerated in fairly good humor.

Riddick was Riddick, only more broody about it now. He was spending a great deal of time with her, even started musing about moving her back into his room. She played the wide-eyed Abu card; he hated them bunking together. If she was sleeping in his room, there was simply no way she could hide what she was doing at night from him. Was a little surprised she'd managed it this long.

Tonight she had a special treat for them. She almost bounded into their space when something made her stop. She retreated to the shadows of cargo containers to hide.

The room was not soundproof. Penetrating the walls was the boozy sound of the younger soldier, the one who kept staring at her with eyes that made her want to kick his knee out. His voice itself leered. "None of them will help you. They are all terrified of you. Well, all but the bald guy, and he's too focused on fucking his little girl to care about you."

"Must be hard, knowing someone else is getting some and you're not. She looks like your type." Tir's voice was bitter, full of guilt and loathing.

Drake laughed, a barking sound. "Yeah. You know me so well. Maybe he'll let me borrow her. Or maybe I'll kill him, say you did it, spend some quality time with her. Be fun. Let you watch again. Didya like it last time?"

An inarticulate growl was the only response. Drake spat. "Won't be as good as your little sister Sarah though. No way she's that good of a fighter. Don'tya got a couple more, boy?"

There was a sound of something smashing, someone stumbling back. Jack's knife was in her right hand, even though she had no memory of drawing it. Her left hand was clenched so tight she was at the verge of drawing blood with her own nails. She forced herself to relax, knowing if she bled, Riddick would smell it. Might even appear; he'd done it before when she was bleeding. She had a feeling it was not a good time for Riddick to show up.

Whatever they were talking about seemed to be over, because Drake was leaving, laughing, not even bothering to shut the door behind him. She watched him go from the shadows.

_Will he come back?_

_Fuck it. I'm not letting him scare me off._ She eased her way toward the door. They were talking.

"I fucking hate being helpless."

"Me too, son."

"Do you think he'll go after her?"

She froze.

"I don't know. Whatever that Riddick's real game is, I wouldn't want to tangle with him, and he's marked her out as his territory."

"Do you think he knows she comes down here?"

There was no answer. After an eternity of silence, Jack pushed her way in, with forced cheer. "Hey, brought you some cookies."

Bor took them solemnly. His fingers grazed hers through the bars. "Child, you are in danger. That soldier, Drake, does not have your best interests at heart."

"I can handle Drake," she said, with false bravado.

"Are you sure?" Bor, his voice quiet, shook his grizzled head. "You were listening, weren't you?"

She gave him a sharp look. "How did you know that?"

"You came down the corridor while Drake was here. You waited until he was gone. We have good ears. Bet you do too. You heard what he said." He hesitated. Then his voice dropped. "They raped and killed my niece, a girl barely older than you, right in front of us. He'd do it to you if he could."

"I can fight. Riddick is teaching me how to fight."

"Riddick's teaching you to fight against guns?" Bor shook his head, tiredly. "Look, you should go. You should stay close to your Riddick. Drake's obsessive; he'll come back if he thinks of anything else he thinks he should have said. And if you don't let us out, we can't protect you."

**oOo**

Riddick woke abruptly. Drake was drunkenly stumbling down the hallway. He listened to the soldier's stuttering, growling progress.

The man stopped outside Jack's room. Riddick could almost hear him weaving, thinking, wanting. _Fuck._ Riddick pulled himself out of bed silently, put on his goggles, stepped noisily into the hall. Fixed Drake with a look. The two of them stared at each other.

"Whoops, wrong room," Drake said, finally. Continued on to his own.

After the lock clicked behind Drake, Riddick moved to Jack's door. It was locked. He rapped softly. "Jack? Kid?"

She wasn't in there. He hesitated. He'd suddenly regretting teaching her to walk silently.

"Hey." Jack was coming down the hall, fully dressed, a slightly guilty look on her face. "What's up?"

He gave her a dour smile; laid his hand on the lock panel of her door. It recognized him and opened obediently. He gestured her in with mock gallantry, stepped in behind her. The door slid back and locked with a snick. The room was completely black.

"Lights 20 percent," he said softly. The lights came up. She was still standing, slightly tense, though she had managed to remove the guilt from her face. He cupped that face in a hand, gently.

"Drake came to see you," he said, finally.

She tensed. Normally, when he tried to talk to her about Drake, she just made a joke.

"Something happen between you two?"

She shook her head. "No. I avoid him. Like you said."

"So why you takin' him seriously now?"

She shrugged. "Just . . . heard some stuff. It might not be true."

"Heard stuff?"

She looked down. "Yeah."

"From who?"

She stayed quiet. He stared at her. After a moment, she could not stand the silence any more.

"I – I overheard them talking. Drake was talking about killing Tir's sister in front of them. And – and doing other things." She looked down.

Riddick sighed. Sat down on her bed, patted a spot next to him. "You on first name basis with these guys now?"

She sat. "Yeah." At his expressionless look, her words were rushed. "Riddick, they're hungry. The soldiers aren't feeding them hardly anything. And I think maybe they aren't really bad guys. They said people will die if we don't let them go. They said the soldiers did bad things -" She stopped talking abruptly.

"Kid, your fascination with criminals is not a good thing."

"Whatever. It's not right. It's not right."

He sighed. Pulled her close. "Leave it be, kid."

She relaxed against him. "Why?"

"Because it's not our problem."

"You always say that."

"And I'm always right." After a moment, he took pity on her. "Tell the captain. She's a do-gooder. She won't let anyone starve on her ship. And kid –if Drake so much as looks at you, or you got any reason to think he's gettin' interested, I wanna know about it."

She bit her lip and nodded, slowly.

**oOo**

The next week was quiet. Jack's lessons were going well. Drake avoided her. Riddick had nearly stopped hovering. She mostly stayed away from the cargo bay at night, though she tagged along with Abu every day when he visited the prisoners, bringing food, making soft eyes at Tir from behind his back.

Dale had volunteered to try to fix the skiff, parked in a different cargo bay. The prisoners had nearly destroyed it in an escape attempt. Riddick was doing one of his crazy brooding workouts, Themis was busy, and she was bored. She decided to check it out. She made her way to the small docking bay.

"Need a hand?" Jack offered, brightly.

"Sure thing. I gotta do some work underneath. You can hand me stuff. I'll tell you what I'm doing. We'll call it a lesson. Make my wife happy."

They worked together easily for a while, Dale taking the time to explain what he was doing. Finally, Dale, still under the ship, asked, cautiously, "So . . . what's up with you and Riddick? He's been really . . . attentive. Sorta weird to see you alone. Does he - are you . . ." His voice trailed off into awkwardness. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. He's just going through a protective phase."

"Why?"

"He caught Drake looking at my door funny."

There was a grunt, then the sound of wiring being manipulated. "That'd make me uncomfortable too. Why are you with him, anyway?"

"Now that my folks are dead, he's like the closest thing to family I've got. He's like home."

"I get that. My wife told me you said that. But . . . not the safest home ever."

She laughed. "Better than the alternative."

"What's the alternative?"

She kept her voice light. "Being eaten by monsters."

"You know that only happens in fairy tales."

"I've seen it happen."

Dale laughed, taking it as a joke or a brush off. _Guess Themis hadn't told him that part._ "You're a good kid, you know that?"

Jack laughed. "Sometimes."

There was a long silence. Finally, Dale offered, cautiously, muffled, "Look, you should know – sometimes on runs like this there are . . . problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Just . . . things happen. Those guys in the cargo bay could get loose. We could get hit by pirates. There could be engine failure. If anything happens, just stay out of the crossfire, keep your head down. It's best to keep a little money and your valuables on you. If you need to get into an escape pod, or this shuttle, if I ever get it fixed, try to do it with the right person." His voice went rough again. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you. You're a good kid. Savin' those kids like that . . . "

Jack was quiet for a long time. Finally, softly, "Thanks. I'll remember that. Look, I should go. Riddick's been getting testy if I'm not where he can find me."

She could almost hear Dale smile, even under the shuttle. "Smart man. Lots of bad things can happen out here in the black."

**oOo**

Hours later, Jack woke up, blearily aware someone was knocking at her door. Riddick? She pulled herself out of bed, padded over to the door. Opened it.

Drake pushed in, closed the door behind him. "There you are. I've been looking for you, little lady."

She stared up at him, blearily, not sure if she was really awake. "Huh?"

"Not nice of you, leaving your brother like that, Sarah."

Jack woke up abruptly. _Sarah. The girl he killed. Shit._ She also became abruptly aware of just how drunk this man was.

"I'm not Sarah, Drake. You're in the wrong room."

"I don't think so." He smiled down at her. She tried to step past him, get out the door –

He had a gun out. He was waving it unsteadily. _Shit._ "No, Sarah. Stay still." She froze.

"I'm not Sarah. I'm Jack."

He gave her a crafty look. "You're a smart girl. Tryin' to trick me. Pretending to be dead. Won't work." He took a step towards her. She side stepped backwards. He took another step. They repeated the move. Her back was against the door when he grabbed her shoulders, tried to kiss her. She'd guessed right, the gun wasn't pointed at her any more. She kneed him hard in the groin. He doubled over and she kneed him again, this time in the Adam's apple. Hit the door release, wormed through before it was completely open, slapped the emergency lock to close it, bolted down the hall. Only his muffled curses were chasing her. She didn't turn to look.

**oOoOoOo**


	5. Small Things Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

Riddick woke abruptly. Something was wrong. He stayed still, extending his senses, trying to tell what was happening. Muffled sounds of someone swearing, staggering down the hall. _Drake drunk again?_ Hardly uncommon.

No. Something else. He pulled out of bed, dressed quickly, armed himself grimly. Slid the goggles in place, eased into the hall.

Jack's door was open, slightly. His shivving hand itched. He walked in, carefully. The bedclothes were messed, and her scent was fresh in the room. She'd been there recently, in bed. Afraid. Not alone –

Wasn't too hard to figure out. Drake had been there. Drunk. Pissed. Aroused. _Damn._

_Think this through. He comes into her room, wakes her up. She had time to get scared and leave the smell of it, so he didn't just clamp a hand over her mouth and drag her out of here. They must have talked._

_Damn. Why didn't she just scream? Four grown ups woulda come runnin'._

Probably decided that wasn't the best way to handle the problem. He's always armed. If he was pointing a gun at her . . .

He was already heading down the hall. Hesitated at Lucien's door. Listened carefully. All he could hear was Lucien's steady breathing. Thought through what would happen if he woke up to find Drake dead. _Fuck. I could ask for his help . . . or just kill him . . ._

Shook his head, and headed down the hall. Drake's room. It was open slightly. He pushed it open.

Empty. A deep boozy smell. No smell of Jack. _That's something._

Heard a noise. The sound of swearing. He took off at a quiet run.

**oOo**

Drake was in with the prisoners, screaming. "Where the fucking hell is she?"

"How the hell would we know?"

"She's your little sister!"

Drake had been using the shock collars on Bor and Tir. They were on the ground, gasping. Riddick watched for a moment. Stepped in smoothly, smashed Drake face first against the bars.

"Hey, guys," he said, conversationally. Bor gave him one strangled look, then reached through the bars with shaking hands. Pulled the shock collar controls from Drake's belt. Drake was clearly too drunk to notice. Bor started to go for the keys. Riddick swung Drake back hard against another wall before he could. Leaned close, spoke directly into Drake's ear. "So. I think, maybe, we have a common interest. Where's the girl, soldier?"

"Little whore! She kicked me!"

"Where is she?"

"In the nuts!"

Riddick sighed, fighting to maintain the appearance of calm. The alcohol smell that rolled off this man was making his eyes water. Glanced over at Bors and Tir, who were very close to the bars, white faced. Afraid. But not surprised. _Shit._

"Where is she now, Drake?"

"She kicked me!"

"I know that, fuckwad. What happened?"

The door slid back. Everyone else, Lucien, Dale, Abu and Themis were standing in the entryway, staring. "What's going on?" Lucien tried to assert control.

"Sir!" Drake tried to salute. Couldn't, pinned against the wall. "Sir, I was interrogating the girl, and she attacked me! The little bitch!"

"You're drunk, soldier. Mr. Riddick, if you could let him go?"

Riddick shook his head, slowly. "Not _just_ yet. We're still talkin' about Jack. Seeing if he knows where she might have wandered off to."

Themis blanched. She gave him one look, then backed out of the room fast. He could hear her footsteps almost running away, toward the cockpit. _Right. She can do a ship wide scan. Shoulda thought of that._

"She escaped!"

Lucien sighed, looked weak and old. _Wuss,_ Riddick thought. "Soldier, you are confused. Her getting away from you is not an escape, it's good sense. Where did you see Jack last?"

"Jack," the man giggled. Riddick shoved him harder. He gasped. Seemed to sober up slightly.

"Oh god. Jack." He rolled his eyes at Riddick. "She's with you. Man, I'm sorry. I – things just got out of hand – I didn't mean to -"

"To what?" A sick feeling assailed him. _He's really fucked up. Fucked up enough not to remember fucking her up?_ "Ever see anyone get disemboweled, soldier?"

"Sir!" Drake shot Lucien a desperate look.

Lucien shrugged, sadly. "Soldier, if you've killed another girl-"

_Fuck._

"I didn't do anything! We were just talking, and she kicked me in the nuts, and I can't find her! These Furyan assholes must be hiding her!"

Riddick didn't even bother to glance at the men in the nearly empty cage. Knocked Drake's head against the bulkhead hard, and let him slide to the wall, unconscious. "Your boy kills little girls often, commander?"

Lucien had his hands spread, in a placating gesture. "Once. It was wrong. He will be disciplined for it, when we get back. But we need to find your girl now."

"You lock him up. I see him anywhere near Jack, I will kill him." Riddick shot Bor and Tir one dark look, stalked out.

**oOo**

He made his way to the cockpit first. Themis was busy with controls, trying to scan the ship still. "Any luck?"

Themis gave him a small worried smile. "In a way. She's on the ship somewhere; nothing close to her mass got dum-"

At his dark look, she changed course. "Look, she knows it's an old smuggling ship. We went over the schematics together. My guess she's in one of the hidey holes waiting for the rest of us to wake up. She's not in any of the places set up to be scanned." He gave her a curt nod.

Themis continued, annoying him by trying to be comforting. "I get the feeling she's good at hiding."

"Yeah. She is." _She is._

 _Except from me._ He stalked back down to her room, half expecting her to be there. She wasn't.

He stepped in the hall. _Okay. She knew this was a smuggling ship. She knew there are places to hide. She drops the guy. He can run faster than her. She needs to get hidden before he finds her. . ._

One turn. Then another. Stood in a small hallway, trying to imagine what was on the other sides of the walls. Ran his hands over the bulkheads, cautiously.

 _Small girl._ He started rapping softly on the walls. "Jack? Kid?" Nothing.

Tried the other side, rapping and listening. Noticed Lucien and Abu watching him, worried, unhelpful. He ignored them. "Jack?"

There was a noise, like a mouse trapped in the walls. He crouched. Rapped again, softly. "Jack?"

A cautious voice emerged. "Riddick?"

Relief washed over him. "Yeah. Right here kid. I got ya."

A wall panel slid back. Jack blinked at him. Suddenly done with barriers, he reached in, pulled her out. She stood unsteadily, absurdly childish, blinking at him in the oversized t-shirt she was using for a night gown. "Is it morning?"

"No. Come on." He took her hand, shot Lucien and Abu a warning look, led her back to his own room.

**oOo**

The lights were dim in Riddick's room. The lights were always dim in Riddick's room. He let go of her hand once the door closed.

"Jack. . . "

"Are you mad at me?" Her voice sounded childish even to her own ears.

"No."

She could feel her face almost splitting in a smile. "Oh. Good. You sounded mad."

"Yeah. Not at you." He ran a hand over his own head, uncertainly. "Look, kid – How did you end up in the walls?"

"Psyche hack. I watched the captain use her override codes for when the biometrics go out, and I looked at the ship's schematics. All sorts of places to hide."

He smiled at her, almost proudly. Then his expression darkened. "Did he - you okay?"

"I am now." At his look, she swallowed. "He just scared me. Drunkin' gun wavin'. I'm scared of that."

"Good sense." He stayed quiet, watching her.

She swallowed again. Her voice was small. "He thought I was some girl he killed. I think he-" she stopped abruptly, flushed.

"What, kid?"

She looked down. "I think he wanted to have sex with me."

"It's called rape, Jack."

She wouldn't look at him. "Yeah. I think he wanted to rape me."

He sighed. Looked uneasy. With a sudden clarity, she understood something. _He doesn't want to ask._ "He didn't hurt me. He tried to kiss me, and I kicked him kinda hard, but that's it."

Riddick relaxed perceptibly. "Oh, good. Let's go to bed."

"Okay." Impulsively, she stepped forward, gave him a hard hug. After a moment, his arms came around her, carefully.

"Tuck me in?" She mumbled playfully into his chest.

He snorted. "You're bunkin' here now, kid. At least for now."

She stiffened. _Shit. That will make it hard to see Tir –_

She almost started to laugh at herself. _Right_. _Riddick's trying to make sure I don't get raped and murdered in my sleep, and I don't want to because I wanna sneak out and see a boy?_

He saw her tense. "It'll be swell. We'll tell each other ghost stories."

She smiled up at him. "Okay."

**oOo**

The next morning, he pulled himself out of bed, got dressed and armed quietly enough not to wake Jack. Locked her in and went to visit Drake's room. He was thinking hard about killing the man.

But he wasn't there to be killed.

Riddick prowled down the hall, increasingly glad he'd locked Jack in, increasingly glad he'd taken the time to muck with the locks so that she couldn't open the door with her fancy override codes. Before he could get a good homicidal rage on Lucien's door opened. "Mr. Riddick. May I speak with you?"

Riddick hesitated, considering the man who would also have to be killed if Drake had to die. An unfamiliar pang of . . . regret . . . nudged at him. Lucien was not a bad man, just one overwhelmed by circumstances. Finally he let Lucien usher him into his room.

Drake was there, sitting sullenly on the floor, and Themis, sitting quietly at the desk. Lucien courteously gestured him to take a seat on the bed. Riddick shook his head, slowly. Lucien gave way with grace. "Mr. Riddick. I am so sorry." He sounded sincere. "What my man did was inexcusable."

Drake nodded, arguably apologetic. Riddick stared at him.

"Did he hurt the child?"

Riddick shook his head, still slow. Lucien nodded convulsively, continued. "You have to understand. Two of his brothers and three of his cousins were on this mission. And they probably died for nothing. We've – we've failed. We had a mission, and we failed." His voice was full of despair. "Because of that, many innocents will die. It doesn't excuse what he did, but you deserve an explanation for why it happened."

"What's this gotta do with Jack?"

"They're sweet on her." Drake's voice was sullen, thick, hung over.

 _They are what? Fuck, how much time has she been spending down there anyway?_ _Or is he just crazy?_ "Huh?"

"I thought – I thought if I brought her down there, threatened to rough her up, maybe they'd tell us where their people are."

Lucien fixed Drake with a 'shut up,' look. Still staring fixedly at Drake, he said to Riddick, "Not – not your problem, sir. Drake shouldn't have done that. He understands that now."

"Almost did get it out of 'em, with Sarah," Drake continued, oblivious in his hangover. "If she hadn't made me kill her, I woulda."

Lucien closed his eyes. "Shut up, Drake."

The room was silent for a long time. Finally, Drake continued, thickly. "They're bad guys. We need to catch the rest of them. I wouldn't have really hurt her. Just roughed her up a bit."

Lucien broke in. "He's confined to quarters – my quarters – for now. We will pay compensation for . . . her mental anguish. He understands that if he gets near Jack again, you have my blessing to kill him."

Riddick glanced over at Themis. "You good with that, captain?" He asked, his voice heavy with irony.

"Yes, Mr. Riddick. I am, and I have told these gentlemen that. Are we done here?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lucien replied. Riddick nodded, slightly. Themis walked out, gesturing for Riddick to follow her. Amused, and at least slightly mollified, he did so. Killing Lucien would lead to killing her, he suspected and regretted.

She led him to the cockpit, closed the door, settled down in the pilot's seat like it was home. Without waiting for an invitation, he dropped easily into the co-pilot's seat, reminding himself to get the codes from Jack.

"She spent the night in your room?"

He shrugged. "Seemed the thing to do."

Themis passed her hand over her own head in an unconscious imitation of him. "I understand. And I agree. She shouldn't be alone, what with a child murdering pederast on the loose. But I'm not comfortable with her sharing your room at night."

 _Pederast?_ He shrugged again.

"I think it best she stays with Dale and me. In our room."

It was so ridiculous, he almost started to laugh. "And what, exactly, are you going to do when he busts down your door?"

She was offended. "I was a marine."

"Really? I was Special Forces, once upon a time. And now I'm a sociopathic killer who has taken an inexplicable liking to the kid." The captain's eyes widened, and her breath caught. "Just sayin'. I get that everyone on this ship seems to think I'm fucking her, but scout's honor; it's not happening. We'll get off at the next stop. Better yet, you get that soldier boat fixed, we'll take that; be out of your hair in no time."

"Mr. Riddick-"

He cut her off, roughly. "Drake's afraid of me. He's not afraid of you. Look, I'm likin' this notion of us just getting off."

"I am the captain here. We're in the black now; letting you off on a damaged ship would not be responsible. And that ship isn't mine to give."

"And I respect that." His voice was, barely, something that could pass for respect. "But I've got one goal right now. Get her and the holy man home in one piece. Get that ship fixed, we'll be out of your hair in no time. Tell everyone I stole it."

"Very noble," she said, dryly. "But Mr. Riddick, think about what you are teaching the girl."

He snorted. "What?"

"Among other things, that it's okay to go to bed with adult men."

"I don't think that's what I'm teaching her."

"What do _you_ think you're teaching her then?"

He leaned forward. "That when the lights go out, I'll pick her. I think she's got that lesson cold."


	6. Small Things Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

He made his way back to his room, unlocking the door carefully. Jack was standing tense in the middle of the room, with her fists balled. "You locked me in."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

He sat down on the bed. She'd made it neatly. Sorta charming. "Sit."

She hesitated before pulling the desk chair around so she could face him. Her posture was strangely defiant. He kept his voice gentle. "You let him in, didn't you?"

"I thought it was you!"

That stung slightly. "Kid, I didn't take you off that planet to have you letting a – a child murdering pederast into your room in the middle of the night. So there are gonna be some new rules."

"What's a pederast?"

"Ask the captain. First rule. You don't go anywhere without either me or her until we're sure that Drake's under control."

"What if I gotta pee? Which I do."

"I've got a disposal unit in here, kid."

"Huh?"

He pointed to the wall. She seemed authentically confused. "You want me to pee on the wall?"

 _What is she talking about?_ He walked over, palmed the control. The disposal unit and sink slid out smoothly. It didn't seem to make her happy.

"I'm supposed to piss in front of you?"

"You did for weeks on the skiff."

"That was different."

 _I do not want to be having this conversation._ "Then hold it until me or the Captain takes you to the other one, little girl." She winced, looked offended. Ignoring her, he hit the close control, settled back on the bed.

"What about Abu?"

"Huh?"

She sighed elaborately, seeming very much a teenager. "Can I go places with him?"

 _Why would she want to – oh, his missionary trips to the prisoners. Right. No._ "Only if me or the captain are there too, kid."

"Why?"

"' Cause he's not gonna protect you." She opened her mouth like she was going to protest, then took a deep breath, closed it again. After a pause, he continued. "Second rule. You do what I tell you, no arguin'."

"Obedience without question?"

The phrase bothered him. "You can question. Later. But I tell you run, you run. I tell you to fight, you fight. I tell you to go to your – my – our room and lock the door, you do it."

She considered, then nodded, slightly deflated.

"Third rule. You learn to defend yourself."

That seemed to perk her up. "Thought we were doing that."

"I was teaching you how to fight. Abu didn't want me to teach you how to kill. Since you're gonna be his problem soon enough, I was indulgin' him. Not anymore."

He'd said something wrong, her shoulders slumped and she looked down at the floor like she was gonna cry. They sat in silence for too long. But she never could stand silence. "Riddick?" Her voice was small and full of woe.

"Yeah, kid?"

"You – you think what happened last night was my fault?"

This conversation was making his head hurt. "Kid, I don't think like that. Talk to the holy man if you want to know about fault. I'm just interested in it not happening again." _Or worse._ Worst floated through his vision. He closed his eyes.

As if she was reading his thoughts, she said, slowly, almost guiltily, "You could . . . kill him."

He sighed. "Yeah. I could. Trouble is that once the dyin' starts, it's hard to make it stop. Not everyone on this ship needs to die on this trip."

She nodded, her eyes still resolutely on the ground. He forged on. "Look, Lucien made a point of saying he's good with me killin' the fucker if he goes after you again."

"You mean," she said, even more slowly, "you could kill him if you used me as bait?"

He froze. His voice was far rougher than he intended it. "Not using you as bait. No fuckin' way." At that she looked up, locked eyes with him. Good thing he was staring right at her because otherwise he might have broken her neck when she launched himself at him and hugged him hard.

**oOo**

After the last night's adventures, Abu decided not to invite Jack to join him on his daily visit to the prisoners. Anyway, he hadn't been entirely pleased with the sense that his attempts to minister were being used as an excuse for Jack and the young prisoner to make eyes at each other.

She normally put together the food for them. It seemed to make her happy. And giving alms was a virtue, albeit less so when someone else was paying. Still, she was a child and Themis seemed tolerant.

He made his way down to the improvised cell. He passed Themis on the way. She looked worried. He gave her a friendly nod. She smiled, grimly. "Might wanna start carrying a flashlight, Imam," she said as the passed.

 _Strange._ Still, he would make a point of it.

The prisoners had been talking. They fell abruptly silent as he entered. "Praise Allah," he said with almost a false brightness.

"The girl?" Bors asked, tightly. "Is she – did Drake-"

"She is fine, God be praised."

Both men visibly relaxed. "What happened?"

"She concealed herself after Drake -" he stopped, took a deep breath, "after Drake came into her room while she was sleeping. Riddick found her. He has . . . taken her more closely under his wing."

Bor and Tir exchanged a strange look. "Meaning?" Bor asked, slowly.

"She will be staying with him for the time being. She may not be able to visit you for some time, I am afraid."

Bor and Tir looked at each other again. "Staying?"

"Staying close."

There was silence. Abu felt compelled to fill it. "It does you credit to be concerned for the child. But as long as she is with him, Drake will stay away from her, I believe. No harm will come to her."

"What about him? What is his . . . interest . . . in the girl?" Tir's voice was tight. _Jealous?_

Abu laughed, hoping it did not sound forced. "He is no threat to her. He loves her, as much as he can. And he has promised me, once we have arrived at New Mecca, he will leave the girl in my care, and carry on with his own life."

"And you believe he's just going to leave her with you and go away?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Abu hesitated. _Am I betraying a trust by answering this?_ But in the face of their sincere worry, he found himself doing so. "I think . . . in his mind . . . she is his redemption. Saving her saves that part of him that wants to be a good person."

"What happens if she dies?"

"Then the part of him that wants salvation may die too. And given his not inconsiderable talent for destruction, I do not want to be near should such a thing happen."

There was silence. "Is this what you want?" Bor asked gravely. "To be responsible for a child no one would believe was yours?"

Abu smiled, sadly. "We are all God's children, my brothers. We take on the burdens he gives us."

"What if we could give you another solution?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"We plan on escaping. We would – we would like to take the girl with us. Someplace she would be cherished."

Abu's breath caught. "I do not think Mr. Riddick would like that much."

"Do you think that would be a problem?"

**oOo**

It took Abu days to decide what to do. There was a guilty part of him that welcomed Bor's suggestion. He did not really want to raise this child, especially as she and Riddick drew closer, and he taught her . . . dangerous things. And there was something that seemed right about imagining her living in a world of people like Bor. But these men had committed some crime that had brought them to the attention of a duly constituted military, and he had made a solemn commitment to care for her. Commending her to the care of criminals was not consistent with that commitment.

At last, he tracked Riddick down in a nearly empty cargo bay while Themis was supervising Jack's studies. He was working out. He acknowledged Abu with a nod when he entered, but did not stop.

Abu watched for a time. The flashing of the knives, the uncanny twistings of this uncanny man was simply, horridly, hypnotizing. After an awkwardly long time, he broke in. "Mr. Riddick, may I speak with you?"

Riddick tossed the knives into the air, spun, caught them, nodded. "What's up, holy man?"

"I believe the prisoners will try to escape."

Riddick shrugged. He started slowly moving through some sort of stylized kata, arms and legs bending in ways that made Abu's limbs ache in empathy. After a long time, he said, flatly. "I would."

"And I believe they will try to take Jack with them."

Did Riddick hesitate in his turnings? Abu wasn't sure. Still, the words remained flat. "I would."

"Why?"

Riddick did not answer for a long time. The movement of the knives seemed to have his complete attention. Finally, "Because if you're caught by the good guys, she's a great hostage. And if not, she's a valuable commodity."

Riddick had said similar things before. Abu had not taken him seriously. Still, this time, he felt fingers tighten on his heart. "You think they would do that to her?"

Riddick stopped blocking phantoms, started pushing the attack. "Them? Maybe not. They're _sweet_ on her." He grimaced. Abu found himself smiling. Sometimes the big man had a charming lack of self awareness. Then Riddick continued, ominously. "Unless they thought they had to. They really wanna go home."

"Are you concerned, my . . . friend?"

"About them? They aren't the threat here." Abu thought through the words.

"Drake."

"Drake. The murdering pederast."

Abu gave him a hard look. He'd never heard Riddick use a word like pederast before. But he could not bring himself to ask if he knew what it meant. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to tell me your plan?"

Riddick finally stopped. Faced him square. "Yeah. Just sit tight for now."


	7. Small Things Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

It had been three days since Abu had dropped the bombshell that the prisoners were planning on taking the kid with them when they made their break for it. Six days since Drake had made a move. Between the two threats, part of him wanted to keep her on a leash. But nothing had happened.

He also wanted to let Themis carry them half way to their goal. He liked her. She was . . . restful.

If only he trusted they'd survive the trip.

At least Jack was – mostly - a pleasure to teach. She soaked up nearly everything he tried to teach her. Still, as much as he liked the kid, another part of him found having her there all of the time murderously tedious. He was happy to leave her with Themis for lessons or what ever the shit they were gonna do this time.

Today, instead of leaving Jack to work out or work off some tension some other way, he stopped to see the captain's husband. "How the repairs goin' man?"

Dale put down a spanner, a surprisingly giddy grin on his face. "You're a pilot, right?"

"Yeah."

"I think I got it!" He patted the little ship affectionately. "My wife won't wanna leave the Ceridwen and I'm gonna need someone else at the controls while I test a few things. We've got some suits in case something goes wrong . . ." He smiled hopefully.

 _Ship's finished? Nice._ "Sounds great. Let's do it."

They retrieved emergency suits from storage and suited up in the cargo hold. For launch, Dale strapped down in the co-pilot's seat, easily yielding the pilot's chair to Riddick. _God I love being at the controls._ Riddick began the launch sequence.

Dale had communications too. "Honey, we're good to go on our end."

Themis' voice came back, slightly tinny. "You're good to go on ours. God speed."

"And come back!" Jack's voice broke in. Riddick's lips twitched. Dale gave him an amused look as he cut the channel.

"You and that kid. She got some abandonment issues, don't she?"

 _Does she?_ Riddick shrugged, finished the launch sequence, and they were flying.

While Dale was busy running diagnostics, Riddick pulled up navigation. He had to stop himself from laughing. _Twelve more hours, we steal this ship, and we're in easy range of a good planet for stealing an even better ship. Things are lookin' up._

His good mood was spoiled slightly when they passed Lucien in the cargo hold, his eyes sharp. He must have heard them land. Riddick gave him a friendly nod. Resolved to be gone before morning. Decided not to tell Jack or Abu until it was time to wake them up to go. They weren't the best at keeping their mouths closed. Best not to give Drake or those men in the cargo hold any more opportunity than necessary to frell things up.

**oOo**

Unusually, it took Jack a lot longer than Riddick to fall asleep. He was out hard as soon as his head hit the pillow, while she tossed and turned for a long time. He never even woke up to tell her to knock it off. Finally, she fell into a type of strange paralysis; her body asleep, but her mind still racing.

Dinner had been weirdly wonderful that night. Maybe – and Jack felt slightly guilty about this – because Lucien and Drake hadn't been there, so it was just her, Themis, Dale, Abu, and Riddick, joking almost like they were family. Themis had even accused Riddick of being ebullient. At his blank look, she'd laughed at explained it meant him seemed giddy with happiness. He gave her a slightly tipsy smile, though she didn't remember him drinking anything.

Ebullient. Riddick was up to something, she was sure. When they got back to their room, she'd watched him lovingly handling all of his shivs, his gun, everything. He'd even kissed her on the forehead as they got ready for bed.

But all of tonight's goodness kept fading into strange half waking dreams that she was back on the skiff, hiding from the dark, cuddling against Riddick's massive form. They'd tried to conserve energy by keeping the heat at bare minimum. Part of her had been grateful to have an excuse to press herself against him. He felt like home. Most of her was just cold.

Goodness faded further into something darker, damper. The savage cold of the skiff seemed to be back, angry at being stopped before. The cold was a monster with teeth. She was trying to get up, cuddle closer, move around, _do something,_ but she was trapped, held by bands of ice, while more monsters tried to cut their way in through the thin skin of the skiff. She tried to open her mouth to yell for help but nothing happened -

Except the door opened. She tried to open her eyes, fully awake. No more dreams.

_Then why can't I see anything?_

_My eyes aren't open. Why aren't my eyes opening?_ "Riddick?" she tried to say. Nothing came out.

Her ears, however, were working fine. Reporting heavy smirking footsteps.

"Hey, baby, miss me? I missed you." It was Drake. Drunk again. Even panicked, her eyes would not open. She felt him pull back the blankets, lift her up.

_Riddick? Why isn't Riddick stopping him? Oh god, is he dead?_

As if he could hear her, the man carrying her whispered, "Don't worry about your little fuckbuddy. Dosed him and all your friends so they won't bother us. They're out for the count. But if you're a good girl, they'll all wake up."

**oOo**

Drake carried Jack to the cell nestled in the cargo bay and kicked open the door. She was dumped unceremoniously on the ground, far from the bars. She realized muzzily that she could see now. The two Furyans were watching, their eyes cold.

"One last chance, boys. Tell us where your pack is hiding out, or watch your little sister die screaming. Again."

Bor and Tir said nothing.

"More fun if she's wriggling, right?" Drake pulled out a needle, gave her a shot. Stood as she spasmed. "There. You'll be able to move soon." She tried to pull herself together. Things still weren't working right. She made a pitiful mewling sound; clamped her lips closed in shame.

Drake pulled a bowie knife from a boot. She managed to scoot away, back against the wall. It didn't help. He crouched, caressed her face with a slow hand. "Such a pretty face." Starting her left temple, he slowly drew the knife down the side, hard enough to hurt, not enough to cut the skin. She whimpered.

"Such a pretty face," he repeated, glancing sidelong at the prisoners. "She's gonna be a beauty." The knife kept its slow trek down, pausing on the hollow of her throat. Just a little more pressure, and she could feel the skin submit, smell the copperish tone of her own blood. She sobbed one breath, two.

He lifted the knife, stepped back. Glanced at the prisoners again. "Anything you want to say?"

"Please don't do this," Tir whispered. "Let her go. She's got nothing to do with this. She's an innocent."

For an instant, something like remorse passed over Drakes features. He closed his eyes, pressed his forehead into hers. To her surprise, she could feel him trembling. His words were almost apologetic. "I have a little sister too."

Almost hating herself, she whispered, brokenly, taking advantage of his hesitation. "Please. Why are you doing this to me?"

Drake, eyes still closed, stroked her face gently. Looked like he was going to cry. But he didn't let her go. He opened his eyes, and a very different man was looking directly into her eyes; a heart broken, fearful man. He spoke carefully, working hard to annunciate each word. "I am sorry. They are right. This – this shouldn't happen to you."

"Then why are you doing it? Just let me go. I won't –I won't tell anyone-"

"I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in prison already, little girl. I have done very bad things. But did they tell you why we were after them, all those hours you spent with them in the middle of the night?"

_He knew I was doing that?_

_Just keep him talking._ "No. Why?"

He backed off slightly, his voice growing clinical, distant. "You are not the only innocent in the game. There's a war coming. The Necros say they'll spare all our innocents if we hand over these Furyans. If we don't – they'll invade, and we will lose. Because we gave these people refuge. I have a little sister too."

 _Oh fuck._ There was silence. Drake reached into his clothes, pulled out a flask. Took a big drink, and the different man he had been for a moment slipped away, and it was just Drake again, drunk and righteous. "Just say the word, boys, and both our sisters live."

After a long and studied silence, he sighed theatrically. "Poor girl. No one to protect you." He reached down, pulled her up by her collar. The loose nightgown bunched and pulled up. _Why don't I sleep in pajamas?_

_Fuck that. Why don't I sleep in body armor?_

He pulled the knife up again, almost lovingly. She tried to pull back. Muscles were working better by the second. _Just a little longer . . ._

Instead of cutting her again, he leaned close, his boozy breath making her eyes water. He kissed her on her temple, following the knife's path down her face, kissing towards her lips. His lips burned on the scored skin, making her whimper piteously. Making her ashamed. She tried to pull away.

He slapped her hard enough to make her lip bleed. _Fuck this._ She kicked out, got him in the groin. Not as hard as she wanted.

Musta hurt, though. "Bitch!" As he went down, he tried to bring the knife around. Riddick had drilled her on this move. She twisted the knife out of his grasp, brought it up, meaning to plunge it into his gut –

He shoved her away, hard. She found herself flying. She hit the ground, rolled, came up with the knife in front of her. _I know this._ He lunged at her. She side stepped, slashed with the knife. It cut his chest. Furious, he tried to knock her down.

This time, she twisted away, let the momentum spin her around. Muscle control was coming back fast. She had the knife ready. Had it ready to slide into his gut as he came after her again.

He gasped, fell hard onto his knees. She pulled the knife out. Riddick had drilled her on the move so many times she didn't know she'd sliced his jugular until the blood hit her.

He fell forward, and went still. She stumbled back and slid to the ground. Everything was silent.

**oOo**

_I'm soaked in blood,_ she thought, dimly. She looked up. Tir had tears in his eyes and a soft look that made her want to cry. She laid down the knife carefully, scrambled over to Drake, shoved his body over. Found the keys in a pocket.

With a voice that seemed to come from far away, she heard herself say, "I'll let you out. But you gotta promise you won't hurt my friends."

"We promise," Tir said, his eyes soft, worshipful, compassionate. _Damn it, I can't look at him. I'm gonna start to cry._ She focused on her hands, fitting the key in the lock. Focused on turning the key. Focused on the click.

She took a deep breath and backed away. Picked up Drake's knife, almost absently. "Look, the skiff is fixed. You take it. I've got the captain's override codes so you can launch."

They were out of the cell, seemingly taller, bigger, more real. Tir took the keys from the lock, used them to remove the shock collar. Bor was already at Drake's body, searching it.

Tir approached her slowly, carefully. There was a desperate longing in his eyes, coupled with the clear fear she might bolt away. "Thank you," he whispered. He tossed the keys to Bor, who caught them easily. Then, despite the blood, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her lovingly. Despite all Riddick had taught her, she hugged him back like he was an old friend.

Somehow at the end of it all, he had the knife she'd used to kill Drake. Wiped the blood off, kissed it, tucked it into his own belt with a curiously reverent gesture. She should do something about that, but she didn't know what. He was being so careful not to be threatening. Like he really liked her. Tears prickled at her again.

Bor broke in. "Show us where the skiff is?"

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded. Tir offered her his hand, and she took it before completely thinking it through. She led them quietly through the halls, to the ship. By the time she was there, she'd gotten back some composure.

"13763941" she said, showing them how to enter it in. The ramp lowered, silently. Bor exchanged a glance with Tir, eased up the ramp.

Tir still had her hand. They looked at each other for a long moment.

Bor was back. "Skiff's stocked, fueled, and supplied. It'll take us far enough to get another." He engulfed Jack in a hard hug. For an instant, she was lost in it.  
So lost she hardly noticed the forward movement.

 _Wait, what's going on?_ They were gently but inexorably pulling her up the ramp. "What are you doing?"

"You're comin' with us."


	8. Small Things Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

_Shit._

Riddick woke abruptly from a dream of being in full restraints.

Something was wrong. He couldn't hear Jack's steady breathing –

He couldn't hear it because it wasn't there. He tried to lift his head. Couldn't. _Fuck._

Ran through the muscle groups. Almost nothing was working right. He lay back down, thinking furiously.

_Drugs. Someone drugged me. Mercs?_

_No. No restraints. They wouldn't be that dumb._

_Dumb. Drake._

_Fuck._

Anger washed through his system. _Drake. Trivial asswipe. Why the fuck didn't I kill him?_

In the wake of the anger, he found he had some muscle control back.

He concentrated. _Paralytic so I can't move. Sedative so I wouldn't wake up when he took Jack. Feels like metathiopental . . . pancuronium . . . right. I know this one._

He could still feel the heat she'd left in the bed, still smell the fear. _Okay. Not long gone. He wants to use her to get those guys to talk. He'll want to take his time. She's not dead yet._

With more concentration, he could control his breathing. Focused on that. Let his breathing be everything.

After a while, he expanded his attention to his heart beat. Forced it to accelerate.

He could almost feel the toxin in his blood, making it sluggish.

_Fucker. I can do this. I will do this. I will do this._

Sitting up was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He blacked out for an infuriatingly long time. But he was still sitting upright when he came to. Standing up wasn't quite as hard.

_This ain't gonna work. Pancuronium. What works against it?_

He stumbled to the small drawers he'd stowed some useful bits and pieces. Found a stimulant shot; adrenaline, amphetamine, caffeine. Helped clear his head a bit. His stumbling was more powerful. It got him to the tiny med bay. He dialed up the right drug cocktail and closed his eyes as the computer brewed it.

**oOo**

Bor's voice was soft, but used to fatherly command. "You saved our lives. We're not leaving you here to die or be punished for saving us. You don't belong in prison."

Jack gripped the handrail of the ramp so hard her knuckles were white, kept her voice mostly steady. "Thank you. That means a lot that you care. But I'm not with you."

Tir's hand was now on the small of her back. It felt more like Riddick's hand than she would have imagined possible. "You belong with us. And your friends are probably dead. Drake's not the type to not kill people when he can."

"But he said – he said—

Bor shook his head. "Jack," he said, and his voice was so compassionate she lost the battle against the tears, "Jack, he was going to torture you to death. Don't you think he'd lie to you? He was just giving you hope he could take away."

The tears were spilling down her cheeks. Feeling ridiculous, she tried to wipe them off with her left hand; she didn't want to let go of the railing with her right. "Okay. Okay. If they're dead – if they're dead, then I'll come with you. But I wanna see." No one moved. She launched ahead. "And if they're not dead, they might need our help." Her voice sounded small.

But Bor's eyes softened. He was wavering. Tir saw it too. "We could be light years away before anyone knows we're gone."

"Are you really gonna kidnap me?" Her voice squeaked.

Bor rocked back, but his voice was firm. "It wouldn't be responsible to leave you."

Something clicked. "You don't think they're dead. If you thought they were all dead, we'd be taking the Ceridwen."

Bor and Tir exchanged another look. Finally, Bor sighed. "Good point. If they are dead, this would be a better ship for us. And if Lucien's alive, we should take care of that anyway. We'll check it out." He stepped down the ramp. Screwing her strength to the sticking point, she let go of the railing and walked down the ramp.

Tir had her hand before she got to the end of it. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn't bear it.

**oOo**

The little medical computer worked its magic. One shot, and life came flooding back to his veins. Riddick tapped the override codes into a small computer console, hoping to let the ship itself tell him where Jack was.

 _Fuck._ Someone – Drake - had done something to frell up the internal sensors, take the interface off line. It would take the ship hours to repair itself.

_Well, I woulda done the same. Captain's the type to have an automatic defense protocol that gets triggered if someone starts screaming. Gotta do this the old fashioned way._

He went back to his – _their_ – room, dressed and armed himself to the teeth. He didn't need surveillance cameras to tell him where to start lookin'. Cargo hold. Prisoners. He headed out into the hall.

A door opened. He spun, gun in one hand, shiv in the other. Lucien was blinking at him blearily. "Drake's gone."

"So's Jack."

A sharp intake of breath. "I'm so sorry."

 _I should kill him._ But something was stopping him. He was never that good at killing people he felt sorry for. "Stay in your fucking room."

"No. He's my man. He's my responsibility."

"I don't have time for this shit. Just don't get in my way." Riddick took off fast, not bothering to look behind him. Despite the counteragent, the drugs were messing with his head. He felt like he could smell Jack everywhere, like she had merged with the ship and he'd never find her because she was everywhere.

Maybe she was everywhere, but she wasn't in the improvised prison. No one was. Well, no one alive. The cell door was open, the control collars where lying on the ground, as was Drake, very dead. He felt a flicker of relief.

The flicker faded out fast. _Okay. He drags her down here. She kills him – twice, neck and gut, sloppy, but we'll work on that – and she lets the prisoners out._

So now I gotta deal with them. And they care about her.

He rolled his neck around, feeling the muscles crack. New challenge.

**oOo**

Tir kept control of the girl's hand. He was torn between wanting to throw her over his shoulder and take her the hell out of here, and falling on his knees in front of her and asking her to marry him. Keeping quiet seemed the best option.

She was very pretty, even in a blood drenched over sized t-shirt with messy hair. In a few years she was going to be beautiful. If she lived that long. The thought of what that monster had almost done to her made his vision darken, and he had to work hard not to crush her fingers.

"Which one is Lucien's room?" Bor asked, grimly, interrupting his thoughts.

She pointed. "Same code will work. Are – are you really gonna kill him in his sleep?"

Bor didn't answer her question. "Check on your guy," he said, quietly.

Jack nodded, met Tir's eyes, suddenly strangely shy. She pointed to a partially opened door at the end of the hall. "That's our room."

 _Our room?_ "I go first." He let go of her hand and was at the door.

"No – he'll kill you-" But before she could get the words out, Tir gently pushed the door open, noting that the lock had been removed with a cutting torch, and slid in. She pressed past him.

"He's not here."

Her words barely registered. Tir was staring at the bed, the clothes haphazardly tossed on the floor, the indicia of an intertwined life. Two people lived in this room. It was _their_ room. Something dark twisted deep inside him. _How dare this man do this?_

She was moving quickly. He focused on her as she pulled on pants. For an instant, their eyes met. With a start of recognition, she turned around before she yanked off the bloody night shirt, throwing it violently into a corner. She leaned over, started rummaging on the clothes on the floor. With a disgusted noise, she hurried over to a set of drawers sunk in the wall, giving him a very good look at her upper body.

His eyes skated over her back, fascinated. Well muscled, but with an embarrassment of bruises, some of them old, some of them not. He'd bet money she'd been beaten savagely at least once, though mercifully not recently. His fists balled.

 _Doesn't bother her to be half naked in front of me. What kind of girl is okay with that?_ His fists balled tighter.

 _One who is used to being naked around men?_ She finally found a shirt in a drawer that met her standards; yanked it over her head.

"See something you like?" Her voice was acerbic.

He flushed. "Sorry. Just – you're bruised."

Her voice softened. "Yeah. Been quite a year. I'll heal." She turned back to the drawers. Pulled something out.

"New plan. I'm staying here. You and Bor – you go. I'll lock the door behind you."

She had a gun in her hand.


	9. Small Things Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

Riddick stalked the skiff. They'd been there. They'd come to the skiff and not taken off. _Why_?

The skiff's hatch was down. There was a smudge of something red on the railing. He touched it, sniffed it cautiously.

_Drake's blood. But it smells like Jack too. Does that make sense?_

_Think this through. Drake drugs everyone so he can take the kid. Takes her to the prisoners. Tries to use her to get them to rat on their pack. No fun to torture the unconscious, so he gives her a counteractive. She kills him, lets them out, takes them here. Everyone's happy._

_Then everyone turns around._ He touched the blood stains again, thoughtfully. _Because they tried to make her go with them, and she balked. Grabbed the rails and wouldn't let go. They gave in._

He snorted. Some hardened criminals they turned out to be. He would have just tossed her over his shoulder.

_Like you did that Hunter-Grazner pilot?_

He shook his head. _Don't think about that now._

_They'll be back. I could just stay here . . ._

_Except for Lucien. He's hunting too. Shoulda killed him._

_Could sabotage the skiff._

_Except I might need it._

A problem he could solve. He vaulted into the skiff, yanked out the navicon computer memory. It was built to swap out easily, and the ship wouldn't launch without it. They could steal the Ceridwen's, but that would take time. And she'd be raising holy hell.

**oOo**

Tir's voice was serious, steady, posture carefully not threatening. "You can't, Jack."

"Why?"

"Because Drake got in with a cutting torch. There's no lock."

"Fuck," she swore, hurrying over to the door, passing close –

Close enough that he had the gun out of her hand. "Sorry."

"How the hell did you do that? Give that back!"

He shook his head, checked the safety, tucked it into his waistband. "I'll teach you, I promise. I'll teach you everything. But please let me have it, Jack. I – you saved me. Let me return the favor. Let me save you."

_Damn you. Don't do this. Don't do this to me._

Bor materialized abruptly there, armed to the teeth. "Lucien's not there, but I got some of his weapons." He smiled at Jack, grimly. "Come on. We'll find your guy, work something out."

It was easier to give in to that, even though she was furious that Tir had stolen her gun. Looking for Riddick made sense. He'd make everything better.

They started worming down through the ship. Tir had her hand again. As pissed as she was, it still felt good. And as much as he was pissing her off, she really liked the way he looked at her.

They were almost back to the cargo hold when Lucien's voice rang out. "Halt!"

Tir spun around Riddick-fast, swung her effortlessly in front of him, elbow under her chin, pressing her back against him. She picked ineffectively at his arm. He leaned forward, whispered into her ear.

"Easy, Jack. Not gonna let anything to happen to you." Her eyes tracked Bor, Drake's side arm drawn and aimed levelly at Lucien.

_You don't want anything to happen to me? Then why aren't I behind you?_

"So," Bor said, almost conversationally. "Here we are. You can shoot one of us. But the other one kills you.

"What about the girl?"

"She's coming with us." He made a slight gesture, and he and Tir were both backing away. She let Tir pull her along. What else could she do?

Relief suddenly flooded every cell in her body. Somehow she knew, deep down, _Riddick's here._ She tried to keep her body and face impassive, tried hard not to do anything that would trigger a reaction. Just wait for her chance.

But everything happened too fast. Lucien's finger squeezed. Tir yanked her back and around and was on top of her, shielding her. She heard the bullet penetrate the ceiling; must have gone wild. Then there was a stomp and a snap and she managed to turn her head around just in time to see Lucien's lifeless body hit the ground. Riddick, rising like Nemesis behind him.

Tir made a move that somehow ended with them both standing, his arm locked again around her throat again. _God damn, he's not just fast, he's as strong as Riddick._ _He picked me up like I weighed nothing._ And now she was caught between him and Riddick, and something was very, very wrong.

**oOo**

Riddick had his gun. Bor and Tir had guns and Jack. It bothered him just how fast that Tir kid was. Bothered him a lot that he had his elbow around Jack's throat. Decided to take it all careful like.

"So," Bor said. "Here we are."

"Yeah."

"Thanks for giving us the controls to the shock collars."

"No problem. Hate those things." There was a silence. Jack had closed her eyes, seemed to be lost in thought. _I showed her how to break that hold. Why isn't she?_ Finally, Riddick pushed on. "You got something of mine there." Jack's eyes opened. She focused on him for just an instant, her face shadowed, her eyes glassy. _Crying? She had time to cry? How long have they had her?_

Abruptly, he realized she was cut. Someone had drawn a knife down the side of her face, hit her hard enough to split her lip, and blood had soaked through her shirt. Which was not the shirt she had worn to bed.

Bor interrupted his increasingly dark thoughts. "Something of yours?" His voice was soft.

Jack's eyes tracked up to the ceiling. She was clearly worried about something other than being trapped between three escaped prisoners pointing guns at each other. Riddick risked following her gaze for an instant. She was staring at the bullet hole from Lucien's dying shot.

"Yeah. You do."

Tir shook his head. "She saved our lives. She's a good person. We're not leaving her with you." The kid was making no effort to hide the disgust in his voice. Riddick focused on him.

"Let. Her. Go."

Jack finally seemed to reach some sort of conclusion. "Please let me go, Tir." Her voice had a hollow quality.

"Huh?" Tir's voice was thick, his attention not on her at all.

She took a deep breath, seemed to come back in the world. "Let. Me. Go!"

With that, she finally used a move Riddick had spent hours teaching her, and Tir went flying. She was sprinting across the room, Tir bolting after her. Riddick took a convulsive step towards her, keeping an eye on Bor.

Bor stepped between Riddick and the door. "He won't hurt her," he offered, quietly.

"Figured."

"We need to talk."

Riddick just stared at him. Bor continued after a moment. "We're not the bad guys. There's something we can do for you." Bor put his weapon away, held up his hands.

After a moment, Riddick shrugged, put his weapon away as well. Leaned back against the wall in an exaggeratedly relaxed fashion. "Whatcha wanna do for me, old man?"

Bor smiled, warm and friendly. "I'll be blunt. You plan on leaving the girl with your holy man. Commendable. But your holy man doesn't want the girl. We do."

Riddick drummed his fingers against the wall, thoughtfully. Getting no response, Bor pushed on. "Come with us. Both of you. We think you might be one of us anyway. Just like her."

"There ain't nobody like me."

"That's what you think? I just saw a forty kilo girl knock down a guy three times her size, and let me tell you, if she hadn't been shaking off the effects of what ever he dosed her with, it would have been no contest. I just saw you go through a heavily armed man like he was butter. Those are Furyan things to do. That's why you two are drawn to each other. That's why those two kids can't take their eyes off of each other. That's why you both belong with us. You're Furyan."

Riddick shrugged. Bor continued. "Don't get me wrong. There's something up between you two I'm putting a stop to. If you can live with that, we'd love to have you on the team."

"Not much of a team player."

Bor smiled. "Figured. But about the kid. . ."

Riddick said nothing.

"Your plan to leave her with the holy man is a mistake. Let us take her. If you're done with her."

"If I'm _what_?" With only the greatest exercise of control, Riddick managed not to shove the man through a wall.

"My nephew's sweet on her."

"Jesus. She's fourteen."

"And he's sixteen. When he's eighteen, she'll be sixteen. What, were you saving her for yourself? Is that why you're sending her to live with a man who doesn't want her?"

"Fuck you."

Bor continued, with deceptive mildness, pressing the attack. "Is that's what's going on? A little girl who worships you, who'll do anything you tell her to do? A little girl you _sleep_ with? She thinks you're some legendary dark warrior; some god incarnate. She'll do anything you tell her, follow you anywhere."

 _Enough._ Riddick got right in his face, spoke softly. "And how the hell do you know all this?"

"Because she's one of us. We're pack animals, and you're the type of man who ends up on top. And because every day, people come to talk to me. I am a sympathetic ear."

 _Gossip._ Riddick grunted. _This man don't know shit._ "I hear things too. I heard that Tir's sister got raped and murdered right in front of him."

"My niece. I was there too."

"And you want to take a little girl with you. To join a wolfpack whole militaries are after."

"We're leaving this galaxy. There's a war coming. We don't want to be anywhere near by."

"So you're just a bunch of pussies?"

Bor smiled, grimly. "It's not our time now. Come with us. Join our pack. When she's old enough – if she still wants you – I won't stand in the way. We're Furyan. Men compete, women choose. It's our way."

 _Women chose. . ._ Riddick rocked back as something slid into place. "The kid told you no. You tried to get her to come with you, and she said no. You're not the type of guy to drag a little girl away kicking and screaming."

That hit. Bor's friendly voice chilled. "She was concerned about what Drake had done to you. She would not come until we made sure you were unharmed."

"Then why'd your boy have her in a headlock?"

"Because he doesn't like you. Because he thinks you have inappropriate control over her."

Riddick smiled, showing teeth. "Smart boy. But you said women choose. She didn't choose you. So why are you pushing this?"

Bor smiled too, regaining control. "We like her. And . . . we skew male."

That took Riddick a moment to puzzle through. "You want to _breed_ with her?"

"Our people are on the verge of extinction."

"Jesus."

"Come with us. Your plan of leaving the girl with the holy man would make sense if you weren't Furyan. But when Furyans loose their packs, they turn into monsters. Not fit for human company. Come with us. Both of you."

It was suddenly more tempting than he'd thought possible. But Tir ran in the room, and the temptation faded. _Men compete. Fuck that._ He almost missed with the boy was saying. "Uncle, please come. The holy man's hurt. He needs blood."

Bor gave Riddick a hard look. "This isn't over."

"Like hell it isn't." But they both took off up the ship at a run.


	10. Small Things Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **oOo**

**oOo**

The bullet had taken almost the only vector it could have to do anything but lodge in a safety bulkhead, but it had found its soft spot after all. Traveled along hidden compartments and air returns and through the soft body of a holy man before coming to rest, harmless at last, in a properly reinforced cabin wall.

They'd staunched the blood. Jack was slowly, carefully, applying synthetic skin to the wound. He'd die without a transfusion, she was pretty sure. She'd known where the bandages were; Tir had actually gotten them for her. Blood was harder. You had to make blood. Tir had been gone a long time.

 _Abu's dying because of me_. A horrible part of her followed up. _And if he dies, Riddick can't leave me with him._ She thought about Bor and Tir.

_They want me._

_Abu doesn't._

_Riddick thinks I'm a problem._

She was trembling. It was making it hard to get the synthetic skin to stick.

Someone's hand was on her shoulder. Bor. His eyes were infinitely compassionate. "Let me." She moved away, gratefully, as he took over the task of bonding the skin together.

"He needs blood," she managed to get out. Her voice sounded harsh to her own ears.

"Tir told us. He and Riddick went to generate some. It's going to be okay, child. It's a clean wound. You saved his life. You did good." The compassion in his voice made her eyes hurt.

"Thank you," she managed.

After careful work he looked at her again. "We've done all we can until they get here. Let me patch you up." She nodded. He moved her to a chair and knelt in front of her. He carefully cleaned the cuts on her face, lip, and throat. "Child. You deserve a better life than this. We'll give you a home. Let us take you home."

She stared at him.

A noise at the door. Riddick and Tir were there, with packets of synthetic blood. Riddick's eyes were on her. He was not happy. Bor spoke mildly, "I need to finish this. Can you two handle the transfusion?"

Riddick nodded, curtly. He moved to Abu, started setting it up. There was an awkward silence in the small improvised sick room. As soon as Bor was done, Jack stood, tried to slip away. "I'm . . . I'm gonna check on the captain." Riddick shot her a dark look, his hands busy.

Tir's hands weren't. He came up to her carefully, unthreateningly. Put his arms around her. Despite herself, she melted into him. "Come with us," he murmured.

"You might want to let go of her," Riddick growled.

She tried to pull away, woodenly. Tir didn't let her. Despite not being done, Riddick began to uncoil himself, move towards them.

 _He'll kill them. Riddick will kill them, and it'll be my fault._ "Tir. Please. Just – I gotta check on Themis."

Tir stood his ground, but he stopped trying to persuade her. "Uncle, she's just a little girl. She doesn't understand what's going on. We can't let her stay here."

Bor's eyes flicked to Riddick. "Let her go, son. We aren't kidnappers. It's her decision."

**oOo**

As soon as he was sure Abu wasn't going to die, Riddick went hunting for Jack. She had collapsed against a wall in the captain's cabin, her arms wrapped around her knees, a vacant look on her face, and tears drying on her cheeks.

"They okay?" he asked, nodding towards the sleeping forms of the captain and her husband.

Jack stared at him blankly. He eased over to the bed, laid two careful fingers first on the woman's jugular, then the man's. Their heart beats were slow but regular, and they did not flinch from his touch. They'd been drugged too, but they'd be fine. Probably. _Wait, what the fuck do I care?_ Jack was messing with his head.

She hadn't moved while he checked on the captain. _Probably the drugs._ He didn't want to think of what else might have put her into a fugue state. He took her hand and she followed him woodenly into the cockpit. Sat her down in the copilot's seat. Felt right to have her there.

He stopped the Ceridwen, turned it to its original heading. What else was there too do? He didn't like these guys, but wasn't about to turn them over to a military that tortured little girls. Wasn't about to take a little girl anywhere near there.

Fortunately Themis had "forgotten" to send any of the messages Lucien had so carefully encoded for his superiors. They were all sitting in a queue. He deleted them all as completely as he could, glad that no one knew they were coming.

He'd decided they hadn't killed thousands. He'd decided they were probably even telling the truth – that they were from some dead world and some weird ass military were trying to kill them. He had no idea if they were right; that he and Jack were part of that dead world. The coincidence was stupid and unlikely.

_As stupid and unlikely as you stopping to save this kid's life? As stupid and unlikely as her killing Drake? As stupid as being jealous of a 16 year old boy?_

He rubbed his eyes. They'd saved Abu's life, but he'd just about killed Tir when he'd grabbed Jack. The whole thing made his head hurt. And he really didn't like Jack's personality transformation. Usually, nothing shut her up.

Bor and Tir were prepping the skiff for launch. He'd given them the navigation computer, told them just to go. She didn't need to see them again. He gave her a sideways look. She was staring out of the view screen. He didn't know he was going to ask until the words came out. "Do you wanna go with them?"

She wouldn't look at him. "Is that the elephant in the room?"

 _What the hell is she talking about?_ Didn't seem the time to ask. He kept quiet.

"I don't know what to do," she said, at last, softly, sounding like she was going to cry. "I've been thinking about what you said. That I'm a problem for you and Abu. They could solve that problem."

He grunted again. _I said that?_ _When did I say that?_ There was an awkward silence. After too long, she resumed talking. "Drake said that if he didn't turn them over, it'd be war. Billions would die."

 _Been there._ "Not our problem, Jack. We're not turning them over."

"That's your decision?"

"Yeah."

She actually smiled, almost gratefully, some of the numbness seeming to drain away. "Do you think they're right? That we're like them?"

"Maybe. Gotta be some reason I like you."

Her voice turned wistful. "If I go with them, would you come too?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Not gonna join anyone else's dog pack."

She snorted, sounding more and more like the old Jack. "No, you're not, are you? You're in-charge guy."

 _Smart kid._ "Yeah. Pretty much."

"Would you stop me?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"Why?"

 _Because I don't like them. Because I don't like the idea of you goin' with people already thinkin' of you as breeding stock. Because about the only thing I know about them is their little sister got raped and murdered by men who are hunting them._ He didn't think she'd find any of those reasons convincing. "Because I'd never see you again."

She froze. Looked hard at him. "Will you see me if I don't go with them? 'Cause I sorta had the feeling you were going into the dark after you drop me off."

"Don't wait up. But – yeah. If I can figure it out."

She leaned back, closed her eyes. Then she started to laugh. "You are one manipulative bastard."

A throat cleared from the back of the room. Jack spun her chair quickly, Riddick turned slowly, pissed at himself for letting someone sneak up on them. Even more pissed that Tir was standing there, looking murderous. "We cleaned up the bodies for you. We're ready to go."

Jack stood, took a step towards him uncertainly. She gave Riddick a quick look. Tir watched it hungrily.

"Last chance," Tir said, softly. Riddick went very still.

Jack looked down, shook her head. "Thank you. I wish – I wish things were different. But no. I'm gonna take my chances with Riddick and Abu."

"Even though they don't want you?"

She looked down. Flushed. Tir pressed on. "Can I talk to you alone?"

"No." Riddick broke in. "You can't. Say your piece and leave, boy."

Tir's eyes were only for Jack. "I'll fight him for you. If you want."

Jack looked him square in the face, seeming much older than fourteen. "Thank you. That's sweet. And kinda offensive. But he's not the bad guy here. You should go."

Tir did not leave. "One kiss?"

Jack blushed scarlet. Riddick considered intervening. But Jack met the boy's eyes and smiled. "Okay. One kiss."

Tir finally gave Riddick a defiant, if panicked, look. He shrugged, enjoying the kid's sudden discomfort at the realization that he would be watching. Intently. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said, low and sweet. Tir's face darkened. Then he looked back at Jack, and his eyes softened.

The boy gathered Jack's face in his hands gently. Leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. After a moment, Jack's eyes closed, and her lips parted. Riddick watched, feeling increasingly irritated as the boy deepened the kiss, stroked her hair almost reverently. Jack's heart beat accelerated and her body relaxed and tensed and gave off smells that some day would get men killed, if Riddick was anywhere in the quadrant.

After far too long, Tir broke off the kiss. Smiled down at her with tears in his eyes. "Your . . . keeper's gonna snap my neck. Are you sure . . ."

She laughed, unsteadily, but she was shaking her head. "Goodbye Tir. I'll miss you." And with that, Tir slipped away. She watched after him until he was long gone. Then she collapsed into the copilot's seat and closed her eyes.

**oOo**

Long after the Furyans had finally slipped into the velvet darkness, Jack opened her eyes. "I'm gonna check on Abu." She walked out steadily, without looking at him. He gave her a few minutes before following.

The kid wasn't with Abu; she was in their room. Carefully separating their things. _Right. They're gone now. She can go back to her own room._ But he felt a pang of regret. _Don't packs sleep in a heap?_ He watched her carefully.

"Guess I've killed a few people now," she said, with an attempt at lightness. It sounded oddly hollow.

"Yeah, guess so." She was back to not looking at him. "What's up with the personality transformation, kid? You're normally so . . . chipper."

She paused. Finally, "I don't want to be alone."

 _Then why are you packing?_ "When are you ever alone? I've known you for six months. You're never alone. We walk into a space station and you're in the center of a crowd."

"Yeah. I'm good at making friends." She stopped. "You're going to leave, and Abu doesn't want me." She rushed on. I know I'll be just fine on New Mecca. It's sunny there." She hesitated. Finally, the words spilled out, "But I'm – I'm gonna miss you." She met his eyes for one agonized instant. Then she pushed on. "I . . . knew as soon as I saw the bullet where it went, and I thought about letting Abu die. So you couldn't leave me with him."

He sighed. He sat down on the bed. Patted a spot right beside himself. "Come here." She did, slowly. "Bor said we're a pack."

Her lips twitched. "I like that. That sounds right. That means we're family."

"Yeah. Family." He pulled out a shiv, tapped it against his palm. She watched it carefully. Very conscious of those eyes on him, he slowly sliced the blade across his left palm. "Gimme your hand."

She complied, silently. Her heart was beating hard enough he could feel it in his own veins. Carefully, he made a matching cut across her palm. She winced, but did not pull away.

He put the shiv down and pressed their hands together hard. Her eyes were big and her breath ragged. He was suddenly unsure if he was hurting her or not. He tried to be gentle.

"There. Now I'll always be with you."

"You're in my blood," she whispered. Incongruously, she giggled. But she had tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. And you're with me. That means when you're rich, and happy, and safe on New Mecca," he whispered, low and soft and more rough with emotion than he intended, "A part of me will be there too."


	11. Small Things Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/n – I reposted this on another forum and decided it would be more balanced if I went back to the original perspective. Finally occurred to me to post it up here –**

**A/n – I reposted this on another forum and decided it would be more balanced if I went back to the original perspective. Finally occurred to me to post it up here –**

* * *

Themis turned the draft over and over in her hands. Three hundred thousand credits, drawn on a military account, signed by a military officer. Who she had saved. Who had disappeared in that good night. Or something.

"Or something" had happened, that was damn sure. Abu was nearly gray, Jack was subdued, and Riddick was even more silent and glowering than usual. None of them would talk about it.

She'd figured out a few things. Someone had disabled a whole lot of the Ceridwen's systems, but inventory worked fine. A whole lot of drugs precursors had been used up. She got the computer to work on what could have been made, and the results were consistent with her experience. Someone had made enough doses of sedatives to take down seven people and paralytics to take down eight.

She turned the draft over in her hands again. Three hundred thousand credits for a job half done.

She'd cash it when they were well away, she decided.

* * *

Years later, the Ceridwen made a call on a port station near the edge of the arm. It was odd out here; most humans had been heavily genetically engineered to adapt to marginal worlds. Many of them were stunningly, strangely, beautiful. One of those stunningly, strangely beautiful men hailed her. "Captain?"

Themis squinted at him. _My god he's big._ He carried himself like a soldier, though he wasn't in any uniform she recognized. He looked slightly familiar. She smiled at him. "Yes, son?" The man stood at parade rest, seemed to be searching for the words. "Please, sit, son. You'll give my neck a crick. Not so young any more."

The man sat. "Captain. You did me and my family a great service once. I'm glad I have the chance to thank you."

"Did I?" She gazed at him, bemused. "My memory must be slipping, son. I'm sure I'd remember someone as gorgeous as you."

The boy smiled. "Ma'am." He was watching her closely. "You picked up a damaged ship. My uncle Bor and I were on it."

"Tir."

"Tir."

She rubbed her eyes. "You were smaller. Forgive me, but weren't you . . . being transported for questioning?"

The boy made a dismissive gesture. "Military conflict. It . . . worked itself out. I've been watching for your ship. I wanted to thank you." Impossibly, he looked younger.

"Well, that's very nice of you, son. But I was well paid for my services."

Tir nodded, solemnly. "Have you stayed in touch with the others?"

"What others?"

"Jack, Abu, and . . . Riddick?"

Themis snorted. "Not that one. But come to think of it, a letter from Jack did catch up with me in the last year or so."

"I would love to . . . thank her for her kindness," Tir said, carefully. "But I don't even know her full name. Could you help me?"

Themis stared at him. The boy had longing on his face. Sort of sweet. As long as he wasn't going to turn out to be some sort of crazed stalker; _Jack had to be all grown up these days . . ._

"I can. On one condition."

"Name it."

"What happened that night you left?"

He looked startled. "They didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Oh." He rubbed his face. "I don't . . . know everything. I think . . . I think one of the soldiers snapped. Drake. He was going to-" he stopped, swallowed. "He brought Jack down to our cell. He wanted us to watch him – hurt her."

"Oh," Themis said, softly. "Did he."

Tir nodded, a distant look in his eyes. He seemed to be struggling with something. "She – she was magnificent. She stopped him, let us out. I guess – I guess he drugged you all. It got bad. Riddick shook it off, told us – told us to leave. We did."

"You're not telling me everything."

"No." He shifted, seeming to become much larger. Themis stared at him, nettled. He stared back, his eyes smoldering slightly.

Abruptly, it slid into place. _Jack killed that soldier. He doesn't want to tell me that. Oh, that poor girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn afterwards._ She could feel her expression soften. _Oh, what the hell; addresses are usually public record anyway._ "Okay. Come on back to my ship; there was nothing in the letter I can imagine she'd mind you knowing. I'll make you a copy."

Tir's expression softened too. "Thank you. You are very kind. I'll . . . remember this."

She smiled back. "It pays to be kind to people, I find."

Tir looked momentarily at a loss, before he smiled, again. "Yes. I'm glad you have."

 _What a strange way to put that,_ Themis thought. But he smiled at her, and she smiled back, and he left soon afterwards and she never really thought about it again. At least, not for a very long time.


End file.
